Architects Adept have created a new recreation area that offers a wealth of water and land- based activities in a beautiful natural setting.

functions and elements that were out of place in the park’s unique surroundings. The area lacked aesthetics, spatial structure and coherence. The client, Aalborg Municipality, wanted the

LOCATED in Aalborg, Denmark, Vestre Fjord Park is a new public park and recreation area on the banks of the Limfjord fjord. As the largest fjord landscape in Denmark, the Limfjord is the principal resource for Vestre Fjord Park offering visitors a rich and varied ecological environment that includes bird life, fish, fields, beach and meadows. Architects Adept have combined these natural elements with a wide variety of activities and outdoor facilities allowing locals to enjoy a host of water and land- based activities. Vestre Fjord Park is

built on a site that formerly held several related non- recreational

park to act as the catalyst of a new strong identity for the area by embracing the outdoor swimming facilities in a physical, aesthetic and functional unity with its green surroundings. In addition to strengthening the experience of the landscape qualities, Vestre Fjord Park was to create a contemporary and multi-functional park and built structure that would include a host of different activities related to the beach, water, nature and other forms of physical activity. The design was developed with close user involvement.

diverse landscape It is the balance between the natural landscape, the planned functions, the new ‘water spaces’ and users that really brings life and character to Vestre Fjord Park. The vision is to encourage direct contact with the fjord by establishing better accessibility from land to sea. At the same time, the project aims to strengthen the story of the landscape with a multi-functional building structure that frames the potential activities of the water. Vestre Fjord Park is both building and

landscape. The park is divided into several smaller landscape areas, each with its own identity and character. The isthmus lies to the north with the building structure, its facilities for sports clubs and its unspoiled nature along the fjord; the beach embracing the outdoor swimming area with sand, water and springboard diving. The woods and the wetlands lie to the west and south with their dense vegetation that close around themselves contrast with the open areas of the wedge and the plain to the east.

water activities The precise cut between the two water areas, the inner basin and the fjord itself, defines the northern isthmus, binding together landscape and built structure. The multi-functional building structure is seemingly an integrated part of the promenade with all paths clearly leading here. The small individual buildings are bound

together by the roof landscape and provide spaces and facilities for a large variety of functions. These include club facilities for local sports clubs, a sauna, a small café, the lifeguard’s office, changing rooms and toilets. Serving as seating for the basin activities, the roof structure also offers a built-in playground